With the spring game in the rearview mirror, and the long abyss ahead of us before fall camp, we thought it was a good time to get the old band back together, with the Irish Blogger Gathering reuniting for a one-day special.

With Josh Flynt off to greener pastures at the Monogram Club, we’re waiting a few beats before UND.com’s Strong & True blogger is selected. But until we get there, we decided to add a new name to the crew — with the Subway Domer swinging for the fences and adding Mike Coffey from NDNation.com to the group. Known mostly as El Kabong, Mike’s been one of the leading voices online talking about Notre Dame football, and is probably the reason you stumbled your way to this blog.

Mike was kind enough to post my answers to his rather thoughtful questions. Mike answered questions for the gang at Her Loyal Sons. And of course our ringleader, the Subway Domer, will get around to this when he’s good and ready.

So here goes. I asked The Subway Domer a few post-spring questions and he answered:

Give me your top three surprises heading out of spring football?

This would be a lot easier to answer if it had been 3 things that DIDN’T surprise me, because this has been a fairly predictable spring- but I will do my best…

1. Maybe I wasn’t listening, but I’m surprised that we haven’t heard more about Danny Spond. We heard a lot about Ben Councell coming up behind him, but Spond was missing as he stood right in front of our eyes. Maybe that will change in the fall when Jaylon Smith gets thrown in the mix, and maybe it won’t. I just thought there would be something of note floating around in my head post-spring, but there isn’t anything at all.

2. Despite some massive personnel losses in Riddick, Wood, Cave, and Eifert, I really thought the offense would have looked much crisper in the spring game. I realize that there are a ton of different factors causing the “blah” play, but it was a bit surprising as I bought into some of the coach speak leading up to the game.

3. I guess with all of the bad karma at the end of the season, I think I was expecting some disastrous injury to jump out of the bushes. It sucked that Carlilse was slowed down by one and it really sucked that Hounshell will miss another season… but, none of that comes close to a Nix torn pectoral, or a Golson torn ACL, or a Tuitt leg amputation. Although these things would have been “shocking,” I’m more surprised that we came out of spring pretty damn healthy.

Everybody knows ND needs to replace the heart of the defense, Manti Te’o, and the engine of the offense, Tyler Eifert. Outside of the two first-round picks, who else is going to be the most missed?

There are two guys that I kept wishing were returning this year. Braxston Cave and Kapron Lewis-Moore. Not only will their play be missed, but more importantly it’s their leadership in the trenches, the huddle, and in the lockeroom that I know Notre Dame will miss this season. Somebody will step up, but it was a nice luxury item to have last year.

How boring was this spring? Do you think it was a product of how crazy life was this winter (BCS, Te’o, Kelly and the Eagles, etc.) or is this what life is like when your program wins games and has some stability?

Nail, meet hammer. Boring is exactly how I would word this spring. Maybe it was because January and February were so hectic. Maybe it’s because we are 100% sure Golson is the starting quarterback. Maybe it’s because the staff returns intact. Maybe it’s because we get so little real and useful information out of spring ball.

Maybe.

For me, it’s a big mix of all of these things, but also because I think I have finally learned my lesson about spring football. It’s about the little things and not the big things- and that, my friend, is how the word, “boring” comes across the tongue.

At any rate, it’s still football and it adds to the anticipation of the fall- even if it’s just adds more questions. We’re addicts and after getting back to the top of the CFB world, the spring high is just a little low.

With Notre Dame just one season into Mike Denbrock’s tenure as offensive coordinator, Brian Kelly didn’t look like he was in the market for a new offensive coordinator. But in Mike Sanford, Kelly (and Denbrock) found a coach worth making room for.

In hiring defensive backs coach Todd Lyght, Brian Kelly decided to bring back to the program one of the most talented players of the Lou Holtz era. While his resume may be short as a coach, one listen to Lyght reveals a man whose DNA is football, with coaching taking root after a world-class career.

Notre Dame’s all-time leading rusher is now in charge of coaching the position. Autry Denson’s return to South Bend comes at the perfect time, with Brian Kelly looking to find the right coach and personality to replace Tony Alford on the coaching staff.

After weeks of speculation, Brian Kelly has announced his coaching staff for the 2015 season. The result is four new assistants, a few new assignments and the homecoming of a handful of former Irish stars.

Well crew, I’ve gotta say… I’m a little underwhelmed by the mailbag question. And in the 150+ comments of people screaming at each other about mostly stupid stuff, I think I speak for everybody when I say:

A position that looked like a huge question mark entering the 2014 season ended the year with an embarrassment of riches. After watching Will Fuller emerge with a record-setting sophomore season, the loss of DaVaris Daniels and departure of TJ Jones didn’t do anything to slow the Irish passing game down.

There might not be a deeper unit on the roster than the offensive line. After a lack of depth made it nearly impossible to practice at full speed heading into the 2012 BCS title game, Notre Dame enters the 2015 season with a two-deep most teams would pay for.

Whether it’s the Siberian Express rolling through most of the country (sorry, guys) or the grand reshuffling taking place on Brian Kelly’s coaching staff, Notre Dame announced a delay in the kickoff of spring practice.

After an incredibly impressive run at the position, Notre Dame enters spring practice with nothing but question marks at tight end. After Brian Kelly watched Kyle Rudolph, Tyler Eifert, Troy Niklas and now Ben Koyack churn through his program, he’ll spend spring trying to figure out what exactly he has at the position.

A few days after safety Avery Sebastian announced his intentions, Notre Dame made the commitment and graduate transfer of the former Cal safety official. Sebastian will enroll in graduate school and join the team in June.

After missing out on a running back in the 2014 recruiting cycle, a once crowded depth chart now only features Tarean Folston and Greg Bryant. Two backs that once worried about having to find snaps will now have all the work they could ever want, with the majority of spring spent doing everything they can to stay healthy.

One of the most impressive statistical seasons in school history was flushed down the toilet when Everett Golson could not stop turning the football over. With fumbles, poor decision-making and some plain bad luck plaguing Golson’s otherwise exceptional season, Brian Kelly chose Malik Zaire to be his starter for the Music City Bowl.